An Artesia man was found guilty this week in Artesia Magistrate Court for the November 2017 theft of a pair of packages from the porches of local residences.

Artesia Police Department officers were dispatched around 1:30 p.m. Nov. 24, 2017, to the 1900 block of Runyan Avenue in reference to the larceny of a package.

The resident informed police the package had been delivered to his porch, and his neighbor had observed it being stolen. The resident subsequently posted about the larceny online and was informed a pair of known individuals had been spotted taking another package in the 1500 block of Briscoe Avenue.

Officers spoke with the neighbor on Runyan, who said he had observed a brown, 1980s model Chevrolet pickup pull up to the home in question and remove a package from the porch. Police then contacted the witness to the Briscoe incident, who stated he had been outside his home when the same pickup pulled up carrying two individuals known to him.

He stated while one was asking him for water for the pickup, he observed the other walking back to the vehicle carrying a package in his hands. After putting water in the truck, the two left.

Police were later contacted by the owner of the Briscoe home from whose porch the second package was taken, and a warrant was subsequently issued for the arrest of the man the Briscoe witness had seen taking the package, identified as Cody Collier, 20, of Artesia.

Collier was found guilty of larceny (over $250 and less than $500) in Artesia Magistrate Court and sentenced to a year of supervised probation for the crime. Total fines and fees amounted to $213.